It's the final week of the regular season in the Pac-12 Conference and the regular season title is still up for grabs with five teams still in the hunt. &
At the top of the mountain is Washington (20-8, 13-3). The Huskies control their own destiny. A road sweep in Los Angeles will give them the Pac-12 crown outright. A split will guarantee them at least a share of the title. This season marked the fourth straight 20-win season for the Huskies --a school record. It's the sixth 20-win season for head coach Lorenzo Romar in his 10 seasons as the Huskies head coach. &
Cal (23-7, 13-4) let one slip away last Sunday at Colorado and now needs some help to have a chance to win the Pac-12 regular season title. A loss by Washington over the weekend and a win by the Golden Bears at Stanford will give Cal at least a share of the title and the number one seed at the Pac-12 Tournament. Cal's 13 league wins ties the school record for most wins in league play since the Pac-10/12 began playing 18 games in 1978-79. &
Arizona's (21-9, 12-5) 65-63 win over UCLA on Saturday not only kept them in the hunt for a top-four seed in the Pac-12 Tournament but also in the race for a Pac-12 title. Senior guard Kyle Fogg made sure of that. The senior from Brea Olinda averaged 18 points and 10.5 rebounds last weekend to help the Wildcats sweep the Los Angeles schools and earn Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. Arizona finishes the regular season at Arizona State on Sunday. A win in Tempe along with losses by Washington and a loss by Cal will give Arizona a share of the title. &
Oregon (20-8, 11-5) is in the same boat as Arizona when it comes to the Pac-12 title race. Colorado (19-9, 11-5) is in that company as well, needing to win out and needing Washington and Cal to go winless over the weekend. The Ducks and Buffaloes will cancel each other out on Thursday when they face each other in Eugene. The loser will be eliminated from Pac-12 title contention with their sixth loss in conference play.
The Ducks have won nine of their last 12 games, with their three losses coming by an average of three points. It's the first time Oregon has won 11 conference games since their Elite Eight campaign of 2007.
The Buffaloes have won 11 league games for the first time since 1996-97 –their first season in the Big 12 Conference. Colorado has been good at home. They're 8-1 in Boulder in conference play. Away from home they're just 3-4.
Losing their shot at a top-four seed at Arizona last Saturday is likely the least of UCLA's (16-13, 9-7) worries with the program now needing to make changes to address the image of UCLA basketball after Sports Illustrated released an article on Wednesday depicting a lack of control as well as rampant alcohol and drug abuse by some current and former Bruins. This adds to what has already been a rough 2011-12 campaign in Westwood.&& &
Stanford (19-10, 9-8) is 4-7 in their last 11 games, including last Saturday's one-point loss at Utah. Freshman guard Chasson Randle isn't to blame, having shot 63.6% from three point range during the last six games. He's led the team in scoring in five of those six games. However, the Cardinal are just 3-3 during that period. &
Reggie Moore is looking to become the first Washington State (14-14, 6-10) Cougar to ever lead the conference in assists. He's averaging 5.6 per game, narrowly leading Cal's Justin Cobbs in that category. Cobbs is averaging 5.0 per game this season. If Moore wants to be the leader at the end of the season, he needs to continue to find his teammate Brock Motum, who's leading the conference in scoring in conference games. The junior forward has reached double figures in scoring in each of his last 12 games. He's averaging 23.4 points in his last eight games.
Oregon State (15-13, 5-11) head coach Craig Robinson was reprimanded by the conference for criticizing the officials after the Beavers' 74-73 loss against Oregon on Sunday.&&&& Oregon State hosts Utah on Thursday.
Arizona State (9-20, 5-12) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 56-52 win over USC. The Sun Devils were led by 7'2" Jordan Bachynski's 19 points and nine rebounds.&& The sophomore is averaging 9.9 points and 6.5 rebounds over his last 11 games, while shooting 64.9% from the field. &
Utah (6-22, 3-13) snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 58-57 win over Stanford last Saturday. Junior guard Chris Hines torched the Cardinal with five three pointers, including the game winner with 27 seconds left. He's averaging 13.4 points over his last five games. &
USC (6-23, 1-15) suffered another sweep and now own a seven-game losing streak –the longest current streak in the conference. One bright spot is the play of freshman guard Byron Wesley. He had a career high 22 points in the loss at Arizona State last Saturday. He averaged 20 points and seven rebounds on the Arizona trip. He's averaging 14.9 points over his last seven games.
